Services for generation of electronic marketplace listings using personal purchase histories or other indicia of product ownership

ABSTRACT

An online marketplace system provides various features for assisting users in listing products for sale, locating the listings for a product, and performing related actions. A user wishing to sell a product can browse to an existing description of the product in an electronic catalog and then select an option to create a corresponding listing. If the user previously purchased the product via the system, the user may alternatively select the product from a personal purchase history. The system may also proactively send product-specific listing requests to those predicted to own specific products. To create a listing for a selected product, the user preferably specifies the product&#39;s condition and a selling price. The pending listings for a product are preferably displayed or summarized on the product&#39;s detail page in the catalog. In one embodiment, the catalog also servers as a retail sales catalog of an online merchant.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C.§119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/336,409, filed Oct. 31,2001, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/351,207, filed Jan. 22,2002, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to electronic marketplaces throughwhich users buy and sell items over a computer network. Morespecifically, the invention relates to user interfaces and methodsthrough which users may place items for sale, locate items offered byothers, and perform related actions within an electronic marketplace.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] As the popularity and accessibility of computer networks continueto increase, it has become common for retail merchants to set up online“stores” for marketing and selling products. Typically, an online storeincludes a web-based or other electronic catalog of products that areavailable for purchase. Users browse the catalog using well knownnavigational tools to locate and purchase products of interest.

[0004] Electronic systems that support user-to-user sales of productshave also become popular. These user-to-user sales systems typicallyinclude an electronic server system, such as a web site or an onlineservices network, that provides services for users to list products forsale to, and purchase products from, other users. Sellers in suchsystems typically include both small merchants and non-merchantindividuals. Existing user-to-user sales systems typically supportfixed-price sales, auctions, or both. Product listings can typically belocated using a search engine. In some cases, the user-to-user salessystem is operated in association with an online retail store such thata customer can search a retail catalog, as well as a database of productlistings from users, via a single search query.

[0005] User-to-user sales systems have the potential to attract largenumbers of users, thereby potentially generating large and variedproduct listings of both new and used products. However, such systemscommonly suffer from a number of deficiencies. For example, existingsystems typically rely on sellers to supply descriptions of the productsthey are selling. The task of creating marketplace listings cantherefore be cumbersome—particularly for small sellers. For example, tocreate an effective listing, the seller typically must obtain and uploada detailed product description and image.

[0006] In addition, different sellers in an online marketplace willoften use very different terminology to describe identical products. Asa result, buyers seeking certain products often fail to find relevantlistings, and sometimes become overwhelmed in less-relevant listings.Further, small sellers sometimes fail to fully and accurately describetheir products, resulting in lost sales and/or erroneous purchases.Further, unlike the retail listings in some online stores, marketplacelistings typically do not include customer ratings, customer andprofessional reviews, sales rank data, and other types ofproduct-related data provided by sources other than the sellers.

[0007] Some user-to-user sales systems seek to address the aboveproblems by allowing a seller to specify a UPC (Universal Product Code)or other product identifier of a product being listed. This allows thesystem to associate all of the seller listings for a particular product.Typically, however, the seller must know or look up the correct productidentifier in order to create such a listing.

[0008] Embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome some or allof the above and other problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention comprises various inventive features forfacilitating user-to-user and other sales in an online marketplace,including features for assisting users in efficiently creating andlocating marketplace listings. These features may be embodiedindividually or in an appropriate combination within a particularsystem.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the online marketplace system includesa database of information about products that may be listed by userswithin an online marketplace. This information typically includesproduct IDs, and descriptions and product images provided bymanufacturers or distributors of the products. The product informationin this database is viewable by end users through a browsable electroniccatalog in which each product is preferably fully identified within acorresponding product detail page. Each product detail page typicallyincludes a product image and description, and may include customerratings, customer and professional reviews, sales rank data, lists ofrelated products, and/or other types of supplemental data that mayassist consumers in making informed purchase decisions. Thissupplemental data may be maintained or generated by the operator of themarketplace system as a service to its customers. Users of the systemcan preferably locate specific product detail pages within the catalogby executing search queries, navigating a browse tree, or using anyother navigation method supported by the particular system.

[0011] To add a listing for selling a particular product within themarketplace, a seller may browse to the detail page for that product andthen select a link for adding a listing. Because the seller fullyidentifies the product to be listed by browsing to the correspondingdetail page, the listing may be accurately associated with a particularproduct ID (UPC, ISBN, etc.) without the need for the seller to supplythe product ID.

[0012] In addition, because detailed information already exists withinthe database for that product, there is no need for the seller to supplya complete description of the item. For example, in one embodiment, theseller can simply specify the condition and selling price of theparticular unit of the product. Because the seller need not supply adetailed product description, listings may be added more rapidly andefficiently. The newly added product listing (referred to generally as a“marketplace listing” or “marketplace product listing”) may, forexample, be in the form of a fixed-price listing or an auction listing.

[0013] To assist potential buyers in efficiently locating themarketplace listings for a particular product, each product detail pagepreferably displays or summarizes the existing marketplace listings forthe corresponding product. These listings may be associated with avariety of different sellers (including individuals and smallmerchants), and may be for both new and used units of the product. Thus,by accessing the detail page for a particular product, a buyer canefficiently and accurately locate all of the current marketplacelistings (if any) for that product, as well as view detailed productinformation from the product database (typically including productimages, third party product reviews, etc). The user can also preferablycompare the prices, product conditions, and other parameters of thevarious listings, and can initiate purchasing of the product from aparticular seller.

[0014] Because each marketplace listing is displayed in conjunction withthe corresponding product's description within the database/catalog,there is a significantly reduced need for buyers to rely on the accuracyand completeness of product information supplied by the seller. Thus,the risk of buyers misidentifying the listed products (e.g., buyingproduct A with the belief that it is product B), or of being unable todetermine the identity or characteristics of a listed product, issignificantly reduced.

[0015] In one embodiment, some or all of the detail pages may alsoprovide an option to purchase the product from a preferred retailer or“provider seller,” which may be the operator of the marketplace systemor a business partner of the operator. The system may thus serve as bothan online store and an online marketplace, with the marketplace sellersbeing permitted to list their items for sale on the product detail pagesor other catalog “real estate” of the store. This feature provides across-selling benefit by effectively driving retail customers tonon-retail listings and vice versa. Further, because catalogs used byonline stores tend to have detailed and accurate product descriptions ofconsistent format, the task of evaluating marketplace listings is madeeasier for buyers.

[0016] A detail page may also be configured to display any existingmarketplace listings for products that are similar or related to theproduct featured in the product detail page. For instance, a detail pagefor a particular laptop computer may, in addition to displaying anyexisting marketplace listings for the laptop computer itself, displayany listings that exist for (a) accessories for the laptop computer,and/or (b) similar laptop computers. A table of similar or relatedproducts may be used to implement this feature.

[0017] When a particular product is currently unavailable within theonline marketplace, the product's detail page may provide an option forbuyers to pre-order the corresponding product from an unspecifiedmarketplace seller. These preorder requests may be displayed within thecorresponding product detail pages to entice possessors of such productsto list the same within the marketplace. In one embodiment, the creatorof a preorder listing is prompted to specify a minimum product conditiondesired and a maximum price to be paid. These parameters are preferablyused by the system to automatically match preorder listings withsuitable marketplace listings.

[0018] To accommodate volume sellers, the marketplace system may alsoprovide a bulk uploading service that permits sellers to add multiplelistings at a time without first browsing to the associated productdetail pages. When a bulk-uploaded listing record does not specify astandard-format product ID, the bulk uploading service preferablyexecutes a search routine to attempt to match the listing record to acorresponding product record of a product represented in the electroniccatalog. When such a match is found, the listing record may beassociated with the corresponding product ID, and the resulting recorddisplayed on the product's detail page. When no match is found, thesystem may, in one embodiment, create a non-catalog-based productlisting that is displayed separately from the products catalog.

[0019] The various pages of the electronic catalog may be in the form ofweb pages, display screens of an online services network or interactivetelevision system, or any other type of suitable electronic display.Although the marketplace system preferably employs product detail pages,the above and other features may be implemented without the use ofproduct detail pages. For instance, the electronic catalog may listmultiple products per page without an option to drill down to productdetail pages. In such cases, the option to add a listing for a product,the existing listings for that product, and/or the option to preorderthe product, may simply be displayed in conjunction with thecorresponding product description on the multi-product page.

[0020] Another feature of the invention, which may be implemented aloneor in combination with the features set forth above, involves providingan option for users to add marketplace listings from their respectivepurchase histories. In a preferred embodiment, the marketplace systemmaintains a purchase history for each buyer within the system. Thepurchase histories may reflect purchases made from a variety ofdifferent sellers (including both merchants and non-merchants), and mayinclude gift purchases made by others for the subject user. To add amarketplace listing in one embodiment, a user may browse his or herpurchase history and select one or more items therefrom to sell withinthe marketplace. Because each product is accurately identified by virtueof its selection from the purchase history, the listing may beaccurately associated with a particular product ID or product recordwithin a product database (as with listings created from product detailpages). In addition, because a preexisting description of the productpreferably exists within the database/catalog, there is no need for theseller to supply a detailed product description. The seller may be ableto list a product to sale by merely specifying a selling price and theproduct's condition.

[0021] To further facilitate the ability for users to add marketplacelistings from their respective purchase histories, the marketplacesystem may proactively remind users of their prior purchases and of theoption to re-sell the purchased items. For instance, at a particularpoint in time after a user purchases an item from the marketplace (orfrom a retail catalog), the system may send an email message or a custompage to the user describing the item and providing a link for sellingthe item. In some embodiments, selection of the link may cause the itemto be listed immediately (without further action by the user).

[0022] In some cases, transmission of these reminder or “listingrequest” messages may be triggered by specific user actions, such as thepurchase by the user of a superceding product, or submission by the userof a review or rating for the product. In addition, listing requests maybe generated in response to the existence of preorder requests; forexample, when the number of preorder requests for an item exceeds aparticular threshold, the system may identify and send email-basedlisting requests to users who recently purchased that item.

[0023] Another feature of the invention is a service for suggestingprices to creators of marketplace and/or preorder listings. In oneembodiment, when a user initiates creation of a marketplace listing fora particular product (e.g., from a product detail or a purchase history,as described above), the system may suggest a selling price to the user.This price may be based on one or more of the following, as well asother, criteria: (1) the current retail price for the product in anassociated online store, (2) the manufacturer's suggested retail price,(3) the condition and/or age of the product (as specified by the user,or as predicted or determined from the user's purchase history in thecase of a re-sell item), (4) prices paid by other marketplace users forthe same or similar products of like condition, (5) prices at which theproduct is currently available from other marketplace sellers; (6)prices specified in any pending preorder requests for the item, (7) thecurrent demand for the product as evidenced by preorder requests. Thesame or similar criteria may also be used to suggest a maximum purchaseprice to the creator of a preorder listing.

[0024] As will be recognized, some of the foregoing features may beimplemented in a particular system without others without departing fromthe scope of the invention. By way of example and not limitation, one ormore of the foregoing methods for creating product listings may beimplemented without others, and/or without the ability to preorderproducts from marketplace sellers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] A system that implements the foregoing and other features willnow be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and theassociated descriptions are provided to illustrate specific embodimentsand features of the invention and not to limit the scope of theinvention. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are re-used toindicate correspondence between referenced elements. In addition, thefirst digit of each reference number indicates the figure in which theelement first appears.

[0026]FIG. 1A illustrates an exemplary product detail page showingmarketplace product listings, and an option to create a marketplacelisting, according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0027]FIG. 1B illustrates another view or version of the product detailpage of FIG. 1A, with additional information about marketplace listingsfor used products.

[0028]FIG. 2 illustrates a product detail page of a product that is notcurrently available from a marketplace seller.

[0029]FIG. 3A illustrates an example web page for creating a preorderlisting for the product featured in FIG. 2.

[0030]FIG. 3B illustrates an example product detail page showing pendingpreorder listings for the displayed product.

[0031] FIGS. 3C-3E illustrate an example sequence of pages for creatinga marketplace product listing once a product has been selected.

[0032]FIG. 4A illustrates an example purchase history page that providesfunctionality for selecting products to list for sale (or “resale”)within the marketplace.

[0033]FIG. 4B illustrates an example resale page corresponding to theproduct selections shown in FIG. 4A.

[0034]FIG. 4C illustrates an example listing request that solicits amarketplace listing from a user based on the user's purchase history.

[0035]FIG. 5A illustrates a block diagram of an example web-basedimplementation of the marketplace system.

[0036]FIG. 5B illustrates a process for generating a product detailpage.

[0037]FIG. 6 illustrates one method by which a seller may create amarketplace listing.

[0038]FIG. 7A illustrates a bulk uploading process that may be used byvolume sellers to list products for sale.

[0039]FIG. 7B illustrates representative logic for matching an uploadedproduct with a product description contained in a catalog.

[0040]FIG. 8 illustrates a process by which a user may preorder aproduct.

[0041]FIG. 9 illustrates a process by which a marketplace listing may becreated for a product listed in a user's purchase history.

[0042]FIG. 10 illustrates a buying process for making a purchase.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0043] An online marketplace system which embodies the above and otherinventive features will now be described in detail. As will be apparent,many of the disclosed features may be used without others, and may beimplemented differently than described herein and/or in combination withfeatures not disclosed herein. Although described primarily in thecontext of a web site system, the various inventive features are alsoapplicable to other types of multi-user interactive systems in whichusers may browse and make purchases from an electronic catalog,including but not limited to online services networks, interactivetelevision systems, in-store kiosk systems, and systems that supportbrowsing by voice. The following description is thus intended toillustrate, and not limit, the invention.

[0044] Throughout the description, the term “marketplace” is used torefer generally to an electronic forum through which users may buy andsell products using a preexisting electronic catalog of products. Theterm “marketplace listing,” or “marketplace product listing” refersgenerally to an electronic listing for selling a product (and typicallya specific product unit) within a marketplace. In a preferredembodiment, marketplace listings are associated with particular productrecords in a products database, and are displayed in the product catalogin association with corresponding product descriptions.

[0045] The term “marketplace system,” or merely “system,” is used torefer generally to the underlying computer hardware, software and datacomponents that provide the marketplace. In one embodiment, themarketplace system also provides services for users to (1) use theproduct catalog to make retail purchases from a preferred seller, and(2) buy and sell items in an area in which sellers' product listings arenot associated with specific product records or displayed within theelectronic catalog (referred to as “non-catalog-based” listings or“non-marketplace” listings).

[0046] The term “product” may, depending on its context, refer to either(a) a particular unit or copy of a product, or (b) any unit or copy ofthat product. The term “unit” is used in some instances to emphasizethat a particular unit or copy of a product is involved.

[0047] The term “user” refers generally to an individual, or a set ofindividuals, associated with a particular user account. In somecontexts, the term may also refer to an individual who has not yet setup an account.

I. Overview

[0048] According to one embodiment of the invention, the marketplacesystem includes various computer-implemented services through whichsellers can list products for sale in a preexisting electronic catalog,and buyers can browse the catalog to purchase and preorder items frommarketplace sellers. As described below, the catalog also provides anoption to purchase retail versions of some or all of the products from apreferred retailer. The electronic catalog is preferably controlled oradministered by a single business entity, referred to herein as the“marketplace operator” or “marketplace provider.”

[0049] The products represented in the catalog are typically physicalproducts that are shipped to the buyer, such as books, CDs, DVDs,electronic devices, and toys. In some embodiments, the products may alsoinclude digital products downloaded or transmitted to a buyer'scomputing device, such as music files, viewable content, or softwareprograms. Other examples of the types of products that may be includedin the catalog include tickets for travel or events, cars, and movietitles. In some embodiments, the purchases need not involve an actualtransfer of ownership, but may involve leases, licenses, rentals,subscriptions, and other types of business transactions.

[0050] The electronic catalog is preferably accessible over the Internetor other network using an ordinary web browser. Some or all of theproducts represented in the electronic catalog are products that may belisted for sale within the marketplace by users of the system.Preferably, the electronic catalog includes representations of manymillions of products, including products falling in many differentproduct categories, to facilitate the ability for users to list theproducts they wish to sell. The catalog content preferably includes“static” product descriptions and images provided by theirmanufacturers, distributors, and/or another appropriate source. Thiscontent is preferably stored in a database used to dynamically generatethe catalog pages, but may alternatively be contained within the HTML orother coding of such pages.

[0051] The electronic catalog can be navigated through a number ofconventional mechanisms. For example, users may browse a hierarchy ofproduct categories and associated products, often referred to as abrowse tree. Moreover, users may enter search terms into a search engineand obtain search results. In any event, users may navigate theelectronic catalog to locate information on one or more products ofinterest.

[0052] As is common in some online store systems, detailed informationabout a product can be obtained by navigating to the product's detailpage within the catalog. Each detail page may include, for example, aproduct name, a unique product ID, a specification or other descriptionof the product (including manufacturer, brand, author, artist, etc., asapplicable), a picture or multimedia presentation of the product,reviews of the product (e.g., from customers and/or professionalreviewers), average customer ratings, a listing of similar or relatedproducts, pricing and availability information, shipping information,and/or sales rank data maintained by the system. Two or more differentversions or views of the same product detail page may be presentedwithin the electronic catalog (see, e.g., FIGS. 1A and 1B), and theseviews may be customized or personalized for the viewer of the page. Someor all of the product information displayed in a detail page ispreferably “static” information (e.g., provided by the product'smanufacturer or distributor) that does not change over time (exceptunder the control of the marketplace operator) as marketplace listingsare added and removed. As described below, each detail page alsopreferably lists or summarizes the existing marketplace listings for theproduct on that page (and optionally for related or similar products),and provides an option for a user to add a marketplace listing for thatproduct.

[0053] Each particular product detail page typically provides an optionto purchase the displayed product from one or more sellers. For example,a detail page may provide an option to purchase the product from apreferred retailer or “provider seller,” which may be either aprovider/operator of the marketplace system or a business partnerthereof. Typically, each provider seller is a well known retailmerchant. (The name “Store.com” is used in the screen displays torepresent a hypothetical provider seller.) Two or more differentprovider sellers may sell products via the system, with each assigned toa different respective product category or set of categories (e.g.,books versus toys versus electronics). Alternatively, the differentprovider sellers may be periodically rotated on a particular productcategory or set of categories based on criteria negotiated with themarketplace operator. In some embodiments, the catalog does not providean option to purchase products from a provider seller (e.g., the systemmay only support user-to-user sales).

[0054] A detail page may also include one or more marketplace listingscreated by end users of the system (generally “marketplace sellers”).The marketplace sellers typically include individual users and smallmerchants, and in some implementations, may also include large merchants(including retailers) that are not provider sellers. The marketplacelistings may be for used or preowned products, retail or other newproducts, and/or other types of products such as collectibles. In someimplementations, and/or for certain products or product categories, thesystem may only support marketplace listings of used product units.

[0055] Typically, each marketplace listing is for a particular unit of aproduct, and is removed from the detail page once that unit ispurchased. Persistent listings used to sell an inventory of productunits may also be supported; for example, the system may support theability for a marketplace seller to request that the listing remain inplace until a specified number of units have been sold.

[0056] As is conventional, users of the marketplace system can registeronline as marketplace sellers and thereafter create marketplacelistings. As part of seller registration and/or as marketplace listingsare created, the system may allow the user/seller to specify shippingand other policies to be published to buyers, and specify a bank accountinto which proceeds from sales are to be deposited by the system or itsoperator. An example process by which users may efficiently create linksto their bank accounts is described in U.S. patent appl. Ser. No.09/517,563, filed Mar. 2, 2000, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

[0057] The system may also support the ability for users to add product“preorder” listings, such as when a desired product is currentlyunavailable within the marketplace. For example, a buyer may add apreorder listing to a product detail page specifying that the buyerwishes to purchase a next available used product unit available from amarketplace seller for a designated price (see FIGS. 2 and 3A, discussedbelow). Preorder listings advantageously entice possessors of a productto sell that product. The preorder listings may also be used by aprovider seller to gauge the level of current demand for a givenproduct, as may be desirable for purposes of inventory management. Aswith marketplace listings, users can preferably initiate creation ofpreorder listings from corresponding product detail pages. As discussedbelow, the system may automatically match preorder listings over timewith suitable marketplace listings.

[0058] Once registered with the marketplace system, a marketplace sellermay add a marketplace listing for a particular product from the catalogdescription, and preferably from the product detail page, for thatproduct. For example, when a seller wishes to sell a book he or she isfinished with, according to one embodiment, the seller may access theproduct detail page associated with the book, and as discussed in detailbelow, add a marketplace listing to the product detail page. Thus, oncea user becomes familiar with the navigation tools and methods that existfor browsing the catalog (e.g., as the result of making purchases), theuser can use the same tools and methods to locate/specify a product tobe sold. An important benefit of this method for adding marketplacelistings is that the seller need not supply a description of the product(although the marketplace seller may nevertheless be permitted to supplydescriptive content). For instance, in one embodiment, a seller maycreate a marketplace listing from a product detail page by merelyspecifying a selling price and the product's condition, without more.Another benefit is that sellers need not supply UPCs, ISBNs, or otherstandard product identifiers for the products they wish to list withinthe marketplace.

[0059] As described below, users may also be permitted to addmarketplace listings from their respective purchase histories, withoutbrowsing to the associated product descriptions in the catalog. Forinstance, a user who previously bought an electronics device (from amarketplace seller or a provider seller) using the system may selectthat item from a listing of his or her purchase history, and then simplyspecify a price and product condition for re-selling the item within themarketplace (see FIGS. 4A and 4B). To enable this feature, themarketplace system maintains user purchase histories that reflect thepurchases made by each user of the system. A user's purchase history mayalso include purchases by others of gifts for that user, including butnot limited to purchases made from a wish list for the user.

[0060] An important benefit of the above-described methods for addingmarketplace and preorder listings is that each such listing may bestored by the marketplace system in association with a correspondingproduct ID or product record within a product database. As a result, themarketplace system can accurately identify and display all marketplace(and/or preorder) listings associated with a particular product. Thus,the likelihood that buyers will fail to locate relevant listings issignificantly reduced.

[0061] Significant benefits may also be achieved by displaying thecurrent marketplace and/or preorder listings in association with catalogcontent (product descriptions) obtained from sources other than themarketplace sellers themselves. (As used herein, the term “catalogcontent” refers generally to product descriptions and data obtained fromsources other than the marketplace sellers of the associatedproducts—such as manufacturers, publishers, distributors, professionalreviewers, the provider/operator of the system, etc.) For example, formarketplace listings, because buyers can identify the listed productsfrom such catalog content, without the need to rely on the accuracy ofdescriptions supplied by the marketplace sellers, there is a reducedlikelihood that buyers will misidentify, or be unable to identify, thelisted products. Further, in embodiments in which the catalog contentincludes professional reviews, customer reviews, average customerratings, and/or other types of supplemental information not commonlyfound in auction and other user-to-user sales listings, potential buyerscan efficiently make informed purchase decisions of products listed inthe marketplace.

[0062] The foregoing association of product listings to individualproduct detail pages is preferably accomplished through the use ofproduct IDs. The product IDs can include Uniform Product Codes (UPCs),ISBNs, and other types of standard product codes. For purposes ofuniformity, even if a product already has a standardized ID (ISBN, UPC,etc.) associated with it, each product in the catalog is preferablyassigned a store standard ID referred to herein as an “ASIN.” For otherproducts that lack a standardized ID, the operator of the marketplacesystem may generate and assign ASINs.

[0063] According to one embodiment, the online marketplace system usesASINs as an index to relate or otherwise associate information invarious databases with each other to, for example, build product detailpages. In a preferred embodiment, the online marketplace system can usean ASIN to retrieve a product's catalog content, and any associatedmarketplace/preorder/provider listings, and build product detail pagessuch as those described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0064] According to another aspect of the invention, the onlinemarketplace system may use the purchase histories of users, and/or otherevidence of product ownership, to proactively generate requests to suchusers to list their items within the marketplace. Such “listingrequests” may be sent by email, a custom web page, or otherwise, and maysupport the above-mentioned “low friction” method for adding amarketplace listing (e.g., specify condition and selling price, withoutmore). According to one embodiment, the timing of such a request maydepend on the type of product purchased. For example, for a short novel,the request may be sent a few weeks after the purchase, while a longertime interval may be used for longer book titles.

[0065] The proactive requests may also be sent as the result of changesin demand for a particular product as developed, for example, throughthe foregoing preordering process. For example, when one or morepreorder requests exist for a particular product, an executable task ofthe marketplace system may search the purchase histories of users toidentify one or more recent purchasers of that product, and then send alisting request to each such purchaser. The listing request may includea suitable message such as the following: “As a recent purchaser of<item name>, we thought you might like to know that <# of preorders>buyers are currently waiting to purchase this item used; if you wouldlike to sell this item within the store.com marketplace, click here.”

[0066] Additionally, a particular action by a user may cause a listingrequest to be sent to that user; for example, a request to list aparticular book title may be presented to a user when or shortly afterthat user (1) submits a review or rating for the book, or (2) purchasesthe book's sequel. Where the action by the user evidences ownership(e.g., submission of a product review), the listing request may bepresented regardless of whether that product is included in the user'spurchase history.

[0067] When a user attempts to add a marketplace or preorder listing byone of the foregoing methods, the user's identity may be determinedusing cookies, a login procedure, a session ID (e.g., if the user hasalready logged in), or any other suitable method. If the user has notyet registered as a seller, the user may be prompted to do so.

[0068] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the onlinemarketplace system may provide a service for suggesting a suitableselling or asking price to the creator of a marketplace or preorderlisting, respectively. For example, the system may use one or more ofthe following criteria to suggest a selling price to a user who iscreating a marketplace listing: the current retail price for theproduct, the manufacture's suggested retail price, the condition and/orage of the product (as specified by the user, or predicted from theuser's purchase history in the case of a re-sell item), prices paid byother marketplace users for the same or similar products of likecondition. In one embodiment, the user is free to use or ignore thesuggested price. In embodiments in which auctions are supported, aseller may use the suggested price to (1) select a minimum price atwhich bids are to be accepted, and/or (2) select a “buy it now” price atwhich a buyer can immediately purchase the item. As described below,marketplace system's user interface may support the ability for a userto create a marketplace listing (including specifying the selling priceand condition), from a product detail page or a purchase historylisting, with a single mouse click or other single selection action.

[0069] When a marketplace listing is created from a user's purchasehistory, the system may also use data associated with the user's priorpurchase of the item to assist the user in creating the listing. By wayof specific example, a user may purchase a used marketplace item listedas being in “good” condition for $25, and two weeks later, may selectthat item from his purchase history to create a marketplace listing. Insuch a scenario, the system may use “price=$25” and “condition=good” asdefault parameters for reselling the item. The user may accept thesedefault parameters (e.g., by selecting a single-action link for creatingthe listing) or specify new parameters.

[0070] The marketplace system may also provide a bulk uploading servicefor allowing volume marketplace sellers, such as large merchants, toinclude their inventories in the listings of the online marketplacewithout having to browse to the associated product descriptions in thecatalog. According to one embodiment, the bulk uploading service isimplemented by a loader component that allows a volume seller to uploadmultiple listings to the marketplace system at one time from the volumeseller's database. Typically, these listings include detailed productdescriptions and images, and are uploaded using a standard or uniformformat published to volume sellers.

[0071] The loader preferably analyzes each such listing, and attempts tomatch the listing to a product represented within a product database ofthe marketplace system, thereby associating the listing with an existingproduct detail page of the existing catalog. Each bulk-uploaded listingis added to the existing product detail page for the associated product.If the loader determines that a bulk-uploaded listing is for a productnot currently represented in the product database (and thus not includedin the catalog), the loader preferably uses the uploaded productdescription to generate a new database record and product detail pagefor the product. The marketplace operator can then review the newlygenerated product database record to determine the sufficiency of theinformation that is provided and whether the record should be added tothe electronic catalog. The number of products represented in theelectronic catalog may therefore grow under control of the marketplaceoperator over time as the result of bulk uploading activities of volumesellers.

[0072] In some embodiments, such as those directed primarily toperson-to-person sales, the capability to perform bulk uploads may beomitted.

[0073] As mentioned above, the system may also provide a service forallowing sellers to list products for sale without associating thelistings with specific products in the electronic catalog. These“non-catalog-based” or “non-marketplace” listings are not displayed onproduct detail pages, but may be located by potential buyers using asearch engine or other navigation tool. By supporting suchnon-catalog-based listings, the system accommodates sellers who wish tosell items that are not currently represented in the catalog at the sametime that they sell items represented in the catalog.

II. Example Web Pages

[0074] Example pages and page flows illustrating specific web-basedimplementations of the above-described features will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1A-4B. Associated web site components andprocess flows are illustrated in FIGS. 5-10 and are described separatelybelow. Although the example pages depict fixed-price sales, it will berecognized that the illustrated features may also be used for auctionlistings.

A. Example Product Detail Pages

[0075]FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, and 3B illustrate some of the types ofinformation and options that may be presented within product detailpages in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. Some types ofcatalog content mentioned above (customer and professional reviews,etc.) are omitted from these figures to simplify the drawings. Theexample pages represent an implementation in which products may bepurchased from both provider sellers and marketplace sellers, and inwhich the marketplace listings are for fixed price sales. As mentionedabove, the option to make purchases from provider sellers may be omittedin some embodiments. In addition, in some implementations, some or allof the marketplace listings may be in the form of auction listings.

[0076] As shown in FIG. 1A, each product detail page 100 includesproduct information 105 (one type of catalog content) and one or moreboxes or “tags.” A provider tag 115 comprises various user activitybuttons 120 relating to purchasing the displayed product from a providerseller. In the FIG. 1 example, the provider tag 115 allows a user toimmediately purchase the product (a music CD in this example) from theprovider seller; or add the product to a personal shopping cart forsubsequent purchase. The page also includes a button 120 for adding theproduct to a personal wish list. Other buttons (not shown) may beincluded for, for example, allowing users to submit customer ratings andreviews of the product.

[0077] The product detail page 100 in this example also includes amarketplace tag 125. The marketplace tag 125 comprises informationrelated to the existing marketplace listings for the product, if any. Asshown in FIG. 1A, the tag 125 specifies the types of the marketplacelistings 130 (“collectible” and “used” in this example), the quantity135 of listings of each of such type, and one or more of the associatedprices 140 (the lowest price of all available used items in thisexample). Other types of marketplace listings such as “Refurbished,”“New,” “Retail,” and “Auction” may be supported. In some implementations(and/or for certain products), the system may only permit marketplacelistings for used products.

[0078] Although the marketplace tag 125 displays a marketplace listingsummary in this example, additional details may be displayed in the tag125 or elsewhere in the product detail page 100. The marketplace tag mayalso list or summarize any existing preorder listings for the product(see FIG. 3B, discussed below). In addition, the marketplace tag 125 maydisplay a button for creating a preorder listing for the product (see“pre-order item” button in FIG. 2).

[0079] When a buyer wishes to purchase the product from the providerseller, the buyer may do so by selecting an appropriate button or linklocated in the provider tag 115. Alternatively, when the buyer comparesthe price associated with the provider listing with the price indication140 for various types of marketplace listings, the buyer may bemotivated to select one of the marketplace listings. The buyer selectswhich marketplace listing to view by clicking on the correspondinghypertext link in the marketplace listing (“collectible” or “used” inthe present example). Clicking on the marketplace listing takes thebuyer to a marketplace listing detail page as described in detail below.

[0080] The marketplace tag 125 also includes a “sell yours here” button127 for allowing a user to create a marketplace listing for the product.Upon selection of this button in one embodiment, the user is promptedvia one or more separate pages to specify the product's condition and aselling price (see FIGS. 3C and 3D, discussed below). Fields, drop downmenus, and/or other display elements may alternatively be included inthe product detail page for allowing the user to specify the conditionand price, so that the user may create the listing without the need tofirst access an additional page. The user's identity may be determinedusing a browser cookie, although in some cases (e.g., where the sellingprice exceeds a certain threshold), the user may also be prompted tosupply a user ID or other authentication information. An example pageflow for adding a marketplace listing to a product detail page is shownin FIGS. 3C-3E (described below), and an associated process flow isillustrated in FIG. 6 (also described below).

[0081] For each marketplace listing category in which one or morelistings exist, the marketplace tag 125 includes a hypertext link tomore information related to those listings. In one embodiment, selectionof such a link causes the system to effectively supplement the productdetail page with detailed information about the subject listings. Forexample, selection of the “7 used” link in FIG. 1A preferably causes themarketplace system to return a version of the detail page that includesdetailed information about each listing falling in the “used” category,as depicted in FIG. 1B (two such listings shown). For each suchmarketplace listing, the page includes additional details about thelisting, such as, for example, the name of the marketplace seller, theseller's average customer rating (based on ratings submitted by priorbuyers), the price, the condition of the product, the seller's shippingpolicy, and a buy button 129 or other link for initiating a purchase(such as adding the product to a shopping cart).

[0082] An important aspect of the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1Bis that the option to sell a unit of an item within the marketplace isdisplayed in conjunction with (e.g., on the same product detail page as)an option to buy a unit of that item. Thus, users who access the catalogfor purposes of making purchases are exposed to the process by whichthey may list items for sale. As a result of such exposure, users aremore likely to become marketplace sellers. Another benefit is that userscan use the same catalog search and navigation tools for both buying andselling products.

[0083] When a user purchases a product from a marketplace seller byselecting the corresponding buy button 129 to that marketplace listing,the marketplace system typically handles the collections process (e.g.,charges the buyer's credit card), and deposits the resulting proceeds(minus a commission) into a bank account of the seller. Othercollections methods such as direct payment to the seller may also besupported. The marketplace system also notifies the seller of the sale(e.g., by email or directly through xml data feed in the event of volumesellers) so that the seller may ship the product. The system may alsosupport the ability for the buyer to rate the seller after thetransaction is complete, and may publish seller ratings data topotential buyers.

[0084] For the convenience of the buyer, an additional tag 150reiterates the other purchase options that are available to the buyer.In this example, the other options include purchasing the product fromthe provider seller (“store.com”) and purchasing a collectible unit froma marketplace seller. The tag 150 also includes a “sell yours here”button 127 for creating a new marketplace listing, as in FIG. 1A.

[0085] Although the above example uses multiple versions or views of aproduct's detail page, in some embodiments, only a single detail pageview may be provided for each product. For example, the details of eachmarketplace listing may be illustrated on the original product detailpage 100. Further, the marketplace listings for a particular product,and the option to create such listings, may be displayed withinnon-product-detail pages, such as search results pages and browse nodepages, that commonly feature or list multiple products per page.

[0086]FIG. 2 illustrates another product detail page format that may beused throughout the catalog. In this particular example, the pageincludes a set of tabs 210 that are used to organize various types ofinformation and options. As is known in the art, selection of a tabreveals the information associated with that tab. The tabs in thisexample include a “Product Information” tab, a “Similar Products” tab, a“Buy it Used” tab 210, and a “Reviews” tab. In the illustrated example,selection of the “Buy it Used” tab 210 reveals that the system currentlyhas no marketplace listings for the book in the “used” category. Thepage thus provides potential buyers the ability to preorder a used unitof the illustrated product by clicking on the pre-order button 215.Thus, as with marketplace product listings, the process of adding apreorder listing may be initiated from a detail page for the product.

[0087] Although product detail pages provide a convenient mechanism foraggregating the foregoing product listings, user options, and otherelements of information associated with a particular product, a skilledartisan will recognize from the disclosure herein that the variousfeatures described can be implemented without the use of product detailpages. For example, the electronic catalog may list multiple productsper page rather than a single product per detail page. In such cases,the option to add a marketplace listing for a product, and the existingmarketplace and/or preorder listings for that product, may simply bedisplayed in connection with the corresponding product description onthe multi-product page. Hybrid approaches which use both product detailpages and other types of pages to display marketplace listings andlisting-creation options are also possible.

B. Creation and Display of Preorder Listings

[0088]FIG. 3A illustrates the general form of a “preordering” page 300that may be displayed in response to a buyer requesting to pre-order anitem on a product's detail page, such as by the use of the preorderbutton 215 shown in FIG. 2 (although FIG. 3A corresponds to a differentproduct than that of FIG. 2). As illustrated, the user is prompted with(1) a pulldown menu 305 to specify a minimum acceptable condition of theproduct (which may be “any,” “acceptable,” “good,” “very good,” or “likenew” in one embodiment), (2) a box 310 in which to enter a maximum priceat which the user is willing to buy the product, and (3) a pulldown menu315 specifying the length of time the pre-order is to remain active(e.g., one week, four weeks, eight weeks, until purchased). As describedbelow, this data is preferably used by the marketplace system toautomatically match pre-order listings with marketplace listings. Toassist the user in selecting a suitable maximum price, the systemdisplays the item's list price, the price at which the item is availablefrom the provider seller, and a suggested maximum price. Other pricedata, such as the average selling price of the item within themarketplace (not shown), may also be displayed. The suggested price maybe based on one or more of the criteria set forth above determiningsuggested marketplace listing prices.

[0089] Upon selection of a “continue” button 320, the user may beprompted to confirm the entered information, and in some or all cases,to log in (not shown). The preorder listing is thereafter added to thesystem, and is displayed on the product's detail page (preferably insummary form, as in FIG. 3B) until fulfillment, expiration, or deletionby the buyer. Thus, similar to the generation of marketplace productlistings, the user need only perform several simple steps in order togenerate the preorder listing, and need not supply a name, product ID,or other description of the product (since the product is alreadyidentified on the detail page from which the process is initiated). Thegeneration of preorder listings is discussed in further detail belowwith reference to FIG. 8.

[0090]FIG. 3B illustrates an example detail page for a product for whichmultiple pending preorder listings exist, as indicated by the text “7buyers waiting.” As illustrated by this example, potential sellers ofthe product are notified of the level of demand that exists for theproduct within the marketplace. The details of these seven preorderlistings, including the minimum conditions and maximum prices specified,are preferably not revealed to potential sellers. A “sell yours here”button 325 is also provided to allow sellers to easily load products tosell in order to satisfy the pre-existing demand for non-provider goods.

C. Creation of Marketplace Product Listings

[0091] FIGS. 3C-3E illustrate a sequence of web pages 330, 335, 340 thatmay be used to create a marketplace product listing according to oneembodiment. The example condition page 330 shown in FIG. 3C correspondsto the page depicted after selection of the “sell yours here” button 325in FIG. 3B. The condition page 330 restates the product to be listed forsale, and prompts the seller to select from a list 345 of predefinedproduct condition descriptors. The types of conditions that may bespecified by the seller may be dependent upon the purpose and nature ofthe particular marketplace system and the category or type of productbeing sold. In this particular example, the seller is only permitted tooffer the item as “used” (i.e., all of the condition descriptors are forused products). In other embodiments, such as when the provider does notoffer new products or is out of stock of new products, the seller may beallowed to list the item as “new”. The listing of new products may besuppressed so that the new marketplace seller products are onlydisplayed when the product is not currently available from the providerseller.

[0092] With further reference to FIG. 3C, once the condition isspecified by the seller and a “continue” button 350 selected, the selleris prompted via a price page 335 (FIG. 3D) to enter an optional comment352 and a selling price 354. The comment 352 may be used to furtherspecify the item's condition, and is viewable by potential buyers (seeFIG. 1B). To assist the seller in selecting a selling price, the pricepage 335 displays the provider seller's price (which preferably servesas a maximum marketplace listing price), a recommended price (given thecondition specified on the condition page 330), an average sales priceof the item (based on past purchases of used items), and an averageprice of pending preorder listings (if any). The price page 335 in FIG.3D also prompts the seller to specify (1) a zip code 356 from which theitem will be shipped (for purposes of calculating shipping fees), and(2) whether the seller offers expedited shipping, although one or bothof these parameters may be pre-specified by the seller for all of theseller's listings. Upon selection of a “continue” button 358, the systemreturns a confirmation page 340 (FIG. 3E) from which the seller can editthe information entered or immediately list the item for sale byselecting a button 360 to create the listing.

D. Selecting Items to List from Purchase Histories

[0093] As mentioned above, the system may also support the ability forusers to list product units for sale within the marketplace from theirrespective purchase histories. Although this feature is preferablyimplemented in combination with the above-described feature for addingmarketplace listings from product pages in a catalog, each method forcreating marketplace listings may be implemented independently of theother without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0094]FIG. 4A illustrates an example purchase history page 400 includinga listing of products purchased by a particular user from the provideror from a marketplace seller. A user may access such a page in oneembodiment by selecting a “Purchase History” option from an “Accounts”page. The user may also specify one or more filters, such as, forexample, “last X months,” “Music,” “Items under $X,” or the like, forlimiting the items listed on the page 400. The purchase historypreferably reflect both purchases made from marketplace sellers andpurchases made from the provider seller(s). Although not illustrated inFIG. 4A, the purchase history may also include a listing of productspurchased by others as gifts for the particular user. In addition, asthe result of partnership arrangements with other merchants, thepurchase history may reflect purchases made from third parties, e.g.,from other web sites, online stores, physical stores, or othermarketplace sellers.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 4A, the purchase history page 400 includeslistings 405 of previously purchased products, organized, according tothe illustrated embodiment, by product subject matter. As isconventional, the listings 405 include a short description or title ofthe product, with a hypertext link to the product's detail page. Inaddition, each listing 405 may include one or more of the followingtypes of information (or links to such information): an order number,the price paid, the condition of the item when purchased, an order date,and the shipping recipient.

[0096] According to one embodiment, each listing 405 also includes acheckbox 410, providing the user the option of placing the purchasedproduct on sale in the online marketplace. If desired, the user maycheck multiple boxes to create multiple marketplace listings inparallel. The user may alternatively be required to create the listingsserially (one at a time), in which case pages of the form shown in FIGS.3C and 3D may be used. In such an event, the “condition” field 345 and“price” field 354 shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D may be pre-populated with thevalues associated with the prior sale, as discussed above.

[0097] Selection of the “Sell Checked Items” button in FIG. 4A causesthe system to generate and return a resell page 450 of the typeillustrated in FIG. 4B. From this resell page, the user can specify thecondition and selling price, and enter a comment, for each item to belisted. The user may also be prompted to specify the zip code of theshipping location and the shipping methods supported, as in FIG. 3D. Ifthe item was previously purchased “used” from a marketplace seller, someor all of the check boxes and fields shown in FIG. 4B may bepre-populated by the system with the values used for the prior sale.

[0098] As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the resell page 450 may also displaysuggested prices for each item to be listed for each possible condition.The suggested prices for an item may be generated by the system based onsuch criteria as the item's list price, the prices at which the item isavailable from other marketplace sellers, the provider seller's pricefor the item, the price paid for the item by the user, and/or historicalprices paid for the item within the marketplace.

[0099] Upon selection of the “Submit for Resale” button (or upon asubsequent confirmation), a separate marketplace listing is created foreach item. Preferably, these marketplace listings are displayed onproduct detail pages as set forth above. Thus, as with the process ofcreating marketplace listings from product detail pages, the overheadtypically associated with uploading product descriptions and images issignificantly reduced or avoided.

[0100] As mentioned above, the system may additionally or alternativelyuse user purchase histories, and/or other evidence of item ownership, toproactively generate requests to users to list their items in themarketplace. An example listing request 455 that is sent via e-mail isdepicted in FIG. 4C. When sent by email, these listing requests mayinclude links 460 to web pages for creating the listings. For example,selection of one of the three products/links 460 in FIG. 4C would, inone embodiment, cause the page of FIG. 3C to be displayed, but with theselected product described in place of the “Olympus Camedia” product. Aninterface of the type shown in FIG. 4A (which supports creating multiplemarketplace listings in parallel) may also be used within the listingrequests.

[0101] As mentioned above, a listing request 455 may be sent to a userin response to one or more of the following events: (1) expiration of aparticular time period from prior purchase of item, where such timeperiod may be dependent upon the type or identify of the particularitem, (2) submission by the user of review or rating for the item; (3)purchase by the user of a superceding or replacement item; (4) theexistence of a threshold number of preorder requests for the item. Themarketplace system may also generate listing requests for products otherthan those actually known to have been purchased by the relevant user.For example, a request to list an item may be sent to a user who merely(1) is the recipient of a wish list or other gift purchase of the itemby another user; (2) has submitted a rating or review of the item, (3)has recommended the item to another user through a “community” typeservice or forum of the system, or (4) has explicitly indicatedownership of the item.

[0102] The product detail and other pages of FIGS. 1A-4B representspecific embodiments of the invention, and are not intended to belimiting. Rather, a skilled artisan will recognize from the disclosureherein that a wide number of combinations of differing tags, tabs, linksand/or other display elements may be used to covey to a user the productlistings and options available. In addition, some or all of thedisplayed information and options may be presented using displays otherthan web pages, or may be presented audibly through a voice interface.Further, the number of pages used to create a listing, and the numberand types of information elements requested from the listing creator,may be varied from those shown (see, e.g., subsection IV below titled“single-action creation of marketplace listings.”)

III. Display of Marketplace Options on Pages of Related Products RelatedProducts

[0103] In the example pages described above, the options to buy, sell,and preorder a particular product in the online marketplace arepresented within a product detail page for that product. One extensionis to also display one or more of these options within the productdetail pages of related products. For instance, when a marketplacelisting exists for product A, this listing may be displayed within theproduct detail pages of product A plus the N products most closelyrelated to product A. With reference to FIG. 2, for example, selectionof the “similar products” tab may reveal a list of products that arerelated to the product featured on the detail page, together with anindication of whether any marketplace listings exist for each suchproduct. The detail page may similarly include options to sell and/orpreorder each such related product.

[0104] The display within a given product's detail page of marketplacelistings for related products may be made contingent upon whether anymarketplace listings exist for the given product. With this approach,the user is informed of listings of related products only when nomarketplace listings exist for the product being viewed.

[0105] To implement this extension, a table or database may bemaintained with information about which products in the catalog areclosely related. This information may also be encoded within the HTML orother files used to generate product detail pages. For instance, thecoding for product A's detail page may indicate that the page shouldalso display any existing marketplace listings for products B, C and D.

[0106] In one embodiment, the “product relatedness” data used toimplement this feature is generated automatically by periodicallyanalyzing browsing histories of users to identify products that arefrequently viewed during the same browsing session. For example,products A and B may be deemed related because a large percentage ofusers who viewed A also viewed B during the same session. An importantattribute of this method is that the related products reflected in thetable tend to be substitutes (because customers tend to view like orsubstitute products during individual browsing sessions). Productrelatedness data may also be generated based on user purchase histories(e.g., products A and B are related because a large percentage ofcustomers who bought A also bought B). Example methods for identifyingrelated products using product viewing and purchase histories aredescribed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/821,712, filed Mar. 29,2001, and U.S. Patent No. 6,266,649, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference. The task of identifying related products mayalternatively be performed using other sources of information, such asproduct descriptions and/or product classifications.

IV. Single-Action Creation of Marketplace Listings

[0107] As mentioned above, the online marketplace system may alsosupport the ability for users to add marketplace product listingsthrough a single mouse click or other single action, without the need toperform any further action. This may be accomplished, for example, byproviding multiple single-action buttons or other links, each of whichcorresponds to a particular condition and selling price for listing thedisplayed product. For example, the following single-action links may bedisplayed in addition to the option to manually enter the condition andprice: “Like new—list immediately for $20;” “Very good condition—listimmediately for $18;” “Good condition—list immediately for $15,” or thelike.

[0108] The foregoing single-actions links for a given product may bedisplayed in the product's detail page, in the purchase history of auser who purchased the product (see FIG. 4A), and/or in a listingrequest transmitted to a user. Selection of such a single-action linkpreferably causes the advertised transaction to be completed withoutfurther action by the seller, although the seller may be permitted tosubsequently cancel the transaction. In one embodiment, the option topost new marketplace listings by single action may be enabled anddisabled by users as an account setting.

V. System Architecture

[0109]FIG. 5A illustrates the user and system components to enablemarketplace sales according to one web-based embodiment. One or moreuser devices or systems 505 (one shown) allow users to access amarketplace web site system 515 over a communication network 520, suchas the Internet 525. Similarly, one or more volume seller systems 510may access the marketplace web site system over the communicationnetwork 520. The marketplace web site system 515 preferably includes orcommunicates with a backend payment processing system 548 that handlessuch tasks as credit card processing and ACH (Automated Clearing House)transfers. Although the marketplace system is in the form of a web sitesystem 515 in the embodiment of FIG. 5A, other types of server systemsmay be used (e.g., those of an online services network or interactivetelevision system).

[0110] The user systems 505 in the illustrated embodiment can be anytype of computing device that enables a user (including both buyers andsellers) to interactively and remotely access the marketplace web sitesystem 515 via the communication network 520. Each such device 505 runsa web browser 530, such as Netscape® Navigator, Microsoft® InternetExplorer, or a micro-browser adapted for use on a handheld device.

[0111] As will be appreciated, the type or types of user devices 505supported will generally depend on the type of platform used to host themarketplace system (e.g., web site, online services network, interactivetelevision system, etc.). For example, in some embodiments, the usersystem 505 may be in the form of an interactive television, a computingdevice that runs a proprietary client program, an interactive kiosk, apersonal digital assistant, or a telephone that connects to an AutomatedVoice Recognition (“AVR”) system.

[0112] The volume seller systems 510 may be any of the foregoing typesof user systems 505, or a combination thereof. Typically, the volumeseller system 510 will include an inventory management system 535 whichstores and tracks information regarding the inventory of the volumeseller, such as, for example, product information, product IDs,quantities, and if applicable, product conditions. In one embodiment ofthe marketplace web site, a volume seller may export its inventory datainto a spreadsheet (or create the spreadsheet manually), and then uploadthe spreadsheet to the marketplace web site system 515 to create theassociated marketplace listings. Although bulk uploading support forvolume sellers is preferably provided, such support may be omitted.

[0113] The marketplace web site system 515 hosts the electronic catalog,and provides the various functionality and services of the marketplacesystem. The web site system 515 may be implemented using Windows or Unixbased server systems, although other types of computer systems may beused. As mentioned above, the web site may be operated by a providerseller that uses the electronic catalog to sell retail items tocustomers. The provider seller may also take commissions on, and/orotherwise charge fees for, the listing and sales activities ofmarketplace sellers. In some embodiments, the marketplace system mayinclude multiple, distinct web sites 515 or other systems, including websites associated with affiliated merchants; for example, where multipleprovider sellers are involved, each may host its own catalog content onits own respective web site. In still other environments, the operatorof the marketplace web site system 515 may limit its role solely tocreation and maintenance of an accurate catalog of goods, with all newand used goods being offered for sale by third parties.

[0114] As illustrated, the marketplace web site system 515 includes aweb server 540 which accesses a database of web documents 542 andrelated content. The web documents 542 may include standard HTMLdocuments and templates, as well as other types of documents, used togenerate web pages of the types depicted in the preceding figures. Thedocuments used to create product detail pages, and other types of pagesthat include dynamic content, preferably include coding that specifiesthe particular database look-up operations needed to obtain the dynamiccontent. An example process that may be used to generate product detailpages is illustrated in FIG. 5B and is discussed below.

[0115] The marketplace web site system 515 also includes a databasecollection 544, a loader 546, and web site code 550. The web site code550 includes various service components used to generate dynamic webpages and to process form submissions and requests submitted by users.Flow diagrams for some of the processes embodied within the web sitecode are included in FIGS. 5B-10 and are described below.

[0116] As shown in FIG. 5A, the database collection 544 preferablycomprises a product information database 560 (also referred to as a“product database”), a product listing database 562, and a user database564. Each database may be in the form of a relational database, a flatfile system, and/or any other type of suitable data repository. Agreater or lesser number of databases may be used.

[0117] The product information database 560 stores information about thevarious products that users can purchase and sell through themarketplace web site, and is the primary source of the catalog contentdisplayed in product detail pages (and other types of pages). Theproduct information stored in this database may include, for example,product IDs, product names and descriptions, product images, customerand professional reviews, information about which products are similarto other products, prices, and other types of information as describedabove. As is conventional, the information for each item may be arrangedwithin fields, such as “author,” “title,” and “product ID” fields,enabling the catalog to be searched by users on a field-restricted basisusing a search engine of the web site.

[0118] The product information database 560 may include two or moresub-databases, each of which is associated with a particular type orcategory of product. For instance, book titles may be represented in abibliographic database that is separate from a database used forelectronics devices.

[0119] The product information database 560, or another appropriate datarepository, may also store lists of products that tend to be purchasedin sequence (e.g., Harry Potter books 1-4). This information may beused, for example, to trigger the generation of a listing request when auser purchases the next product in the sequence (e.g., solicitinglisting of Harry Potter book 1 upon purchase of Harry Potter book 2).The sequences may be specified by administrators, and/or may be detectedby a software component that analyzes user purchase histories. Theproduct database 560 may also store information about products that aredeemed to supersede one another, and this information may similarly beused to generate listing requests.

[0120] The product listing database 562 stores information about thevarious types of listings, including marketplace product listings andpreorder listings. This database may also store information about whichproducts, if any, are currently available from a provider seller, andmay store non-catalog-based listings. For each marketplace or preorderlisting, the product listing database 562 preferably stores informationabout the type of the listing, the product to which it corresponds(which may be specified by an ASIN or other product ID), the creator ofthe listing, and the status of the listing (pending, fulfilled, expired,etc.). Some of this information may be in the form of links or pointersto entries or records in other databases 560, 564. As product detailpages are accessed by users of the marketplace web site, the productlisting database 562 is queried to determine whether any marketplace orpreorder listings exist that should be displayed on such pages.

[0121] The user database 564 stores information about existing users ofthe marketplace web site system 515. For each user, this information mayinclude, for example, a name, password, shipping address, e-mailaddress, payment information, bank account information (particularly forsellers who have elected to have sales proceeds deposited into theirbank accounts), wish list contents, preference settings, and a purchasehistory. Each purchase history may include information about thepurchases made by and for a respective user, including the relevantproduct IDs, purchase prices, product conditions, and purchase dates.

[0122] With further reference to FIG. 5A, the web site system alsoincludes a loader component 546 that provides functionality, includingapplication program interfaces (APIs), for volume sellers to performbulk uploads as described above. The bulk uploading process is describedin further detail below.

[0123]FIG. 5B illustrates a process that may be used by the web sitesystem to generate product detail pages in response to requests fromuser devices 505. Initially, the web server 540 receives a page requestthat identifies a particular product (e.g., by its ASIN or other productID), and retrieves a template or other base document for generating aproduct detail page (blocks 570 and 572). The base document preferablyincludes a link for initiating creation of a marketplace listing, as inFIGS. 1A and 1B.

[0124] To populate the detail page, the web server 540 invokes code 550that accesses the product information database 560 and the productlistings database 562 to retrieve catalog content and pending listings,respectively, for the subject product (blocks 574 and 576). Theinformation about pending marketplace listings and/or preorder listingsmay be displayed on the page in a summarized form, as in FIG. 1A. Insome embodiments, the page may also be customized or personalized forthe particular user who requested the page, as is known in the art.

[0125] The data retrieved from the databases 560, 562 may also includeinformation about whether the product is currently available from aprovider seller. This information may be used to determine the types ofpurchase options to display within the page (not shown). As mentionedabove, any marketplace listings for “new” products may be omitted fromthe display if the product is currently available from a providerseller.

[0126] As depicted by blocks 578 and 580 in FIG. 5B, if the product isnot currently available from a marketplace seller, the page ispreferably generated to include an option to preorder the item from anunspecified marketplace seller, as in FIG. 2. In some implementations,the preordering option may alternatively be displayed regardless ofwhether the product is currently available from a marketplace seller.Further, the option to preorder may be restricted based on the types ofmarketplace listings that currently exist; for instance, if the productis currently available from marketplace sellers but not in the“collectable” category, an option to preorder a collectable unit of theproduct may be provided.

[0127] The populated product detail page is finally returned to therequesting user device at block 582.

VI. Example Process Flows

[0128] Process flow diagrams illustrating interactions between users andthe marketplace web site will now be described with reference to FIG. 6(showing creation of a marketplace listing), FIG. 7 (showing a bulkuploading process), FIG. 8 (showing creation of a preorder listing),FIG. 9 (showing parallel creation of multiple marketplace listings froma purchase history), and FIG. 10 (showing a purchase transaction). Theleft side of each such drawing represents actions performed by a user(via a user system 505 and web browser 530), and the actions shown onthe right are those of the web site system 515 performed via executablecode. As will be recognized, the order in which the actions occur may bevaried, and some actions may be omitted.

A. Creation of Marketplace Listings

[0129]FIG. 6 further illustrates the marketplace listing creationprocess depicted in FIGS. 3D-3E. As described above, this process may beused to create a marketplace listing from a product detail page or apurchase history listing. As illustrated, the user initially selects a“sell” option for a particular product (block 605), and specifies theproduct's condition (block 610). As described above, the condition canpreferably be specified by selecting a predefined condition descriptor(“like new,” “very good,” etc.), and may be further specified byentering a textual comment. In response to submission of the conditioninformation, the system preferably looks up pricing information from theproduct information and product listing databases 560, 562 (block 615),and returns such information (and/or price values calculated therefrom)to the user system 505 for display. FIG. 3D illustrates examples of thetypes of price information that may be returned to assist the seller inselecting a selling price.

[0130] As depicted by blocks 620 and 625, the seller then specifies theselling price and the location from which the product will be shipped.The location information is preferably used by the system to calculateshipping costs to be charged to the buyer. The seller may also be askedto specify the shipping methods supported, as in FIG. 3D.

[0131] The user may also be prompted to sign-in, and if applicable, toregister as a seller (block 630). In one embodiment, an unregisteredseller may finish creating the marketplace listing before registering,although buyers may be prevented from buying the listed item untilregistration is complete. As part of seller registration, the seller maybe required, or given the option, to specify a bank account into whichsales proceeds are to be automatically deposited by ACH transfer.

[0132] In response to submission of the various information items, theweb site system preferably generates a transaction summary page of thetype shown in FIG. 3E (block 635). From this page, the user can confirmthe transaction (block 640). Upon such confirmation, the web site systempreferably determines whether the new marketplace listing satisfies or“matches” any preorder listings that exist for the product in theproduct listing database 562. A match with a preorder listing may bedeemed to occur if both (1) the selling price is equal to or below the“maximum price” of the preorder listing, and (2) the condition specifiedby the seller is the same as or better than the minimum conditionspecified in the preorder listing (see FIG. 3A). If multiple matchesexist, the preorder request that was created first may be used. If amatch is found, the seller may be immediately notified that a buyer hasbeen found, and the new marketplace listing may be prevented from beingdisplayed to other potential buyers.

[0133] Finally, the product listing database 562 is updated to reflectthe new marketplace listing, as well as the outcome of the search for amatching preorder. If no match was found, this update will cause thenewly added marketplace listing to be displayed on the product's detailpage when the page is loaded by a user (see FIG. 5B). If a match wasfound, the matching preorder listing will be fulfilled, and will not bedisplayed on the product's detail page. As part of the fulfillmentprocess, a pre-designated credit card of the buyer (i.e., the user whocreated the associated pre-order listing) may be charged, and a portionof the proceeds deposited into the account of the seller. In addition,the seller may be notified by email, or via a web page, of both the saleevent and the shipping address of the buyer.

B. Bulk Uploading Process

[0134]FIG. 7A illustrates a bulk uploading process 700 for loadinginventory data of a volume seller according to one embodiment. To assistthe volume seller, the marketplace web site may provide instructionsregarding the data and file formats supported, and may provide web formsfor prompting the volume seller for the various information itemsneeded. As shown in FIG. 7A, the volume seller initially selects aninventory listing file to upload to the marketplace web site 515 (block705). The seller may select or create the inventory listing file usingthe inventory management system 535, or may create the file manually.

[0135] In implementations that support multiple file formats, the volumeseller may also specify the format of the inventory listing file to beuploaded (block 710). The volume seller may also specify the format ortype of data included in the file. For example, information pertainingto book listings may follow a number of standardized formats. The datafields used to specify the items to be listed may vary depending on thetype of product involved.

[0136] As depicted, by block 715, the volume seller may also review andselect various upload options which define the type of replacementalgorithm to be executed with respect to the volume seller's productlistings. For example, the upload options may include“Add/Modify/Delete,” “Modify/Delete,” “Purge/Replace,” or the like.According to one embodiment, the “Add/Modify/Delete” option causes thesystem to add listings which are new from the seller, modify thoselistings which have changed, and delete those listings no longerincluded in the inventory listing file. The “Modif/Delete” option, whichmay be used when the inventory listing file contains no new entries,causes the system to perform a simple comparison against a previousversion of the inventory listing file, and to update the productlistings database with any changes. The “Purge/Replace” option instructsthe online marketplace system to purge all previous product listings ofthe volume seller from the product listing database 562, and to load thereplacement listings of the inventory listing file. The seller may alsobe prompted to review and select preferences associated with the uploadoperation (block 720), such as shipping preferences.

[0137] In one embodiment, the volume seller is also be prompted tospecify whether the listing descriptions or “records” specified in theinventory file are to be loaded (1) as catalog-based or “marketplace”listings that are displayed in the catalog in conjunction withcorresponding product descriptions, (2) as non-catalog-based listingsthat are not displayed in conjunction with corresponding productdescriptions, or (3) as either catalog-based or non-catalog-basedlistings, depending upon whether an ASIN or other recognized product IDis supplied or can be identified. For purposes of the followingdescription, it may be assumed that the volume seller has specifiedeither option 1 or 3, and thus wishes to have at least some of thebulk-uploaded items appear on corresponding product pages in thecatalog.

[0138] Upon uploading the inventory file (blocks 725 and 730), theloader 546 parses the file and attempts to match each record to anexisting product represented in the product database 560 and catalog.When a record in the uploaded file includes a product ID (ASIN, UPC,ISBN, etc.) that matches a product ID in the product database 560, theloader 546 simply loads the record into the product listing database562, causing the listing to thereafter appear on the product's detailpage (assuming no matching preorder listing exists).

[0139] When a record in the uploaded file does not have a product ID,the loader 546 preferably executes one or more search routines toattempt to match the record with a product represented in the productsdatabase 560, to thereby assign a product ID to the record. For example,if the inventory listing file specifies a manufacturer and model number,the loader may search the products database 560 for a product of likemanufacturer and model number. When a single match is found as theresult of the search, the loader 546 loads the record into the productlisting database 562 together with the product ID of the matchingproduct, causing the new marketplace listing to appear on the matchingproduct's detail page. The matching logic used in one embodiment isdetailed in FIG. 7B. In addition, an example matching routine used forbulk-uploaded book listings is summarized in Table 1.

[0140] When the loader is unable to find a matching product record inthe product database 560, the loader may perform one or more of thefollowing actions: (1) load the record as a non-catalog-based listing(e.g., if the user has enabled this option), (2) store the unmatchedlisting for review by an administrator, (3) reject the listing, or (4)query the inventory management system 535 of the volume seller for moreinformation.

[0141] Upon completion of the matching process, the web site systempreferably attempts to find preorder requests, as described above, thatmay be fulfilled by the newly added marketplace listings (block 735). Insome cases, an uploaded marketplace listing may specify that the volumeseller has multiple units of the item to be listed, in which case themarketplace listing may be used to fulfill multiple preorder listings.

[0142] Finally, the loader 546 generates and returns a report (block740) indicating the success or failure of each attempt to add a newmarketplace listing. TABLE 1 Process for matching bulk-uploaded recordto Product ID (ASIIN) Given the item-name of the book: Use search APIsto retrieve the ASIN of the exact title If no ASIN matches exact title,perform a wild card title search using search APIs For each ASINobtained from search, fetch record from database Check author name,publisher, publish date and the binding information of the incomingrecord against this database record. Calculate accuracy score based onhow much information in incoming record and database record is the same.Compare all ASINs based on the total score and availability Pick/rejectASINs based on set of rules (see appendix) For an in-print ASIN, all ofthe fields may be required to match. For an out-of-print (oop) ASIN,only the item-title and author name fields may be required to match.

[0143]FIG. 7B illustrates the logic used in one embodiment to attempt touniquely match a record in an inventory file to a product (and thusASIN) in a product database. If a single match is found, the record isassociated with the ASIN of the matching product, and the record isloaded into the product listings database as a marketplace listing fordisplay on the matching product's detail page. If either (1) no matchesare found, or (2) multiple matches are found, the record is not loadedas a marketplace listing but may be loaded as a non-catalog-basedlisting. A scoring process is preferably used to determine whether a“match” exists.

C. Preordering Process

[0144]FIG. 8 further illustrates a preorder process 800 by which a usermay preorder a product, as depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3A. As describedabove, the user preferably initiates this process from the product'sdetail page (block 805). In some embodiments, users may also oralternatively be permitted to initiate preordering from other types ofcatalog pages, including browse node pages and other pages that featuremultiple products.

[0145] The user first specifies the minimum condition of the product(block 810). As depicted in block 815, the system may use the conditiondescriptor selected by the buyer to suggest a price. The price mayalternatively be suggested without regard to the condition specified bythe buyer, as in FIG. 3A. The user then enters the price (taking intoaccount or ignoring the suggested price) (block 820), the maximumduration the listing is to remain active (block 825), and payment andshipping information for purchasing the product (block 830). The usermay also be prompted to sign in or register (not shown).

[0146] The system then generates and returns a transaction summary pagethat provides an option for the user to confirm the transaction (block835). If the user confirms the transaction (block 840), the systemupdates the product listing database 562 with the preorder listing(block 845), causing the preorder listing to thereafter be displayed onthe product's detail page. A background task may be executedperiodically to remove unfulfilled preorder listings that have expired.

D. Listing Requests

[0147]FIG. 9 illustrates a general process 800 by which the marketplacesystem may use listing requests to solicit new marketplace listings. Asmentioned above, the transmission of a listing request to a user may betriggered by a particular event, such as passage of a selected timeinterval from a product's purchase, submission by the user of a reviewor rating, purchase by the user of a superceding product, or theexistence of preorders for the product. As depicted by blocks 905 and910, the listing request may be for one or more products in the targetuser's purchase history, and may be conveyed by email or a custom webpage. Pop up windows and other display methods may also be used.

[0148] For each product, the listing request preferably includes a linkto a page of the type shown in FIG. 3D, allowing the user to initiatecreation of a marketplace listing. The link is preferably a hyperlinkthat may be selected by the user, but may alternatively be a simple URL(uniform resource locator) that may be copied into the address field ofa browser. The ID of the product may be encoded within this link toallow the web site system to identify the product upon selection of thelink. As depicted in blocks 915 and 920, for each product selected bythe user to resell, the process beginning at block 610 of FIG. 6 may berepeated. The listing request may also support the ability for the userto create multiple marketplace listings in parallel, as depicted inFIGS. 4A and 4B.

E. Purchasing Process

[0149]FIG. 10 illustrates a process 1000 that typically occurs when abuyer makes a purchase from a marketplace listing. This process may beinitiated, for example, when a buyer selects an “add to cart” button(not depicted) or a “buy from seller” button 129 (see FIG. 1B) from aproduct detail page (block 1005). In response to the buy request, theweb site system prompts the buyer to specify the shipping address andpayment method (block 1010). The buyer may typically specify each suchitem of information either by selecting/confirming information retrievedfrom the user database 564, or by entering new information. In somecases (not illustrated), single-action ordering may alternatively beused, in which case pre-specified shipping and payment information areused to immediately complete the transaction.

[0150] In the illustrated example, the system then generates and returnsa transaction summary page that provides an option for the user toconfirm the transaction (block 1015). If the user confirms thetransaction (block 1020), the system performs the following actions: (1)performs a fraud check of buyer/seller; (2) charges the buyer's creditcard (or otherwise collects payment); (3) transfers resulting proceeds,minus a commission, by ACH to the seller's bank account (although theproceeds from multiple sales may be aggregated for purposes of suchtransfers); (4) updates the product listing database 562 to reflect thesale, and (5) sends a purchase notification message by email to theseller with shipping instructions (block 1025). These actions (1)-(5)are also performed when a preorder listing is matched with a marketplacelisting. Additional communications may also be transmitted to the buyeror seller, depending on the processes selected by the marketplaceoperator.

[0151] A purchase confirmation may also be transmitted by email to thebuyer (not shown). In some cases, this confirmation may include ashipment tracking number obtained from the seller, or may specify astore location from which the purchased item may be picked up. Thisinformation is also transmitted to the user database 564, so that theuser may access the order history by viewing his or her account.

[0152] If persistent marketplace listings are supported, the system mayalso decrement an inventory count associated with the listing. Once thisinventory count reaches zero, the marketplace listing is removed fromthe catalog.

VII. Other Services and Components

[0153] The marketplace system may also include application componentsfor providing a variety of other services to volume sellers. Forexample, the system may communicate order fulfillment reports or othersales information to volume sellers in an aggregated or bulk format. Inaddition, the system may support the ability of a seller system 510 toperiodically poll the web site to request inventory updates.

[0154] The marketplace system may also communicate from time to timewith volume seller systems 510 to ensure that product listings matchcurrent inventories. For example, some volume sellers may list theirlarge inventories for a specific product on many online marketplacesystems. Thus, at any given moment, multiple systems may attempt tocomplete a transaction for units of the same product. To reduce the riskthat the volume seller will be unable to fulfill a marketplace order,the system may query the volume seller's system 510 to ensure properinventory before completing a purchase transaction.

[0155] The system may also support the ability for a marketplace sellerto request that a payment amount be refunded to a buyer because, forexample, the inventory of the seller was depleted before the sale, orthe buyer was dissatisfied with the item.

[0156] The marketplace system may also include application componentsfor providing a variety of other services to assist buyers inidentifying and evaluating products to purchase. For example, the website may include one or more recommendation services for recommendingproducts from the catalog to users based on their respective profiles.In addition, as mentioned above, the web site may include a searchengine for searching the electronic catalog; a browse tree fornavigating the catalog by category; a wish list service; and a servicefor allowing users to post product reviews for viewing by others.Example implementations of these and other types of service componentsthat may be used within the marketplace web site are described in thefollowing co-pending U.S. patent applications (identified by applicationnumber and filing date), the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference: Ser. No. 09/821,826, filed Mar. 29, 2001;Ser. No. 09/442,677, filed Nov. 18, 1999; Ser. No. 09/517,043, filedMar. 2, 2000; Ser. No. 09/532,230, filed Mar. 22, 2000; and Ser. No.09/715,850, filed Nov. 17, 2000.

[0157] The marketplace web site system may also include components forinterfacing with other web sites and systems, such that users of suchsystems may perform the various functions described herein. Forinstance, the marketplace web site system may be integrated with anonline services network such that users of the online services networkcan view the product catalog, create marketplace and preorder listings,and make marketplace purchases, using a proprietary client application.

VIII. Conclusion

[0158] Although the invention has been described in terms of certainpreferred embodiments, other embodiments will be apparent to those ofordinary skilled in the art, including embodiments that do not includeall of the features and benefits set forth herein. Accordingly, theinvention is defined only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. In an online sales system that supportsuser-to-user sales, a system for facilitating the ability for users tolist products for sale to other users, the system comprising: abrowsable electronic catalog of products that includes functionality forusers to make online purchases of products; a purchase history trackingcomponent that maintains purchase histories of users of the system, thepurchase histories including identifiers of products purchased from thebrowsable electronic catalog; and a marketplace listing creationcomponent that supports an ability for a user to specify a product to belisted for sale by selecting the product from an electronic display ofat least a portion of the user's purchase history, as maintained by thepurchase history tracking component, whereby the user may select apreviously-purchased product unit to re-sell.
 2. The system as in claim1, wherein the marketplace listing creation component enables the userto list the previously purchased product unit for sale without supplyinga description that identifies the product.
 3. The system as in claim 1,further comprising a marketplace listing display component that displayspending marketplace product listings in the electronic catalog inassociation with corresponding product descriptions.
 4. The system as inclaim 1, wherein the marketplace listing creation component suggests tothe user a selling price for selling a unit of a product.
 5. The systemas in claim 1, wherein the electronic display comprises a web form thatenables the user to select multiple products to list for sale.
 6. Thesystem as in claim 1, wherein the electronic display is provided in anemail document sent to the user.
 7. The system as in claim 1, whereinmarketplace listing creation component further supports an ability for auser to specify a product to be listed for sale by browsing to adescription of the product within the electronic catalog and thenselecting an option to list a unit of the product for sale, said optiondisplayed in the electronic catalog in conjunction with the descriptionof the product.
 8. The system as in claim 7, wherein the option to lista unit of the product for sale is further displayed in the electroniccatalog in conjunction with an option to purchase a unit of the product.9. The system as in claim 7, wherein the option to list a unit of theproduct for sale is further displayed in the electronic catalog inconjunction with an option to preorder a unit of the product from anunspecified marketplace seller.
 10. A method of listing a product unitfor sale within an online marketplace system that supports user-to-usersales, the method comprising: purchasing products via the onlinemarketplace system over time to generate a purchase history; browsing anelectronic display of the purchase history to locate a description of apreviously purchased product to be re-sold; and selecting an optionassociated with listing the previously purchased product for sale, saidoption provided within the display of the purchase history; whereby auser may specify a product to be listed for sale without supplying adescription of the product.
 11. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising specifying at least a condition of a unit of the product tobe listed for sale.
 12. The method of claim 11, further comprisingreceiving from the marketplace system an indication of a suggested pricefor selling the unit of the product, wherein the suggested price isbased at least in part on the specified condition.
 13. A method forfacilitating user-to-user sales of products within an electronicmarketplace system, the method comprising: tracking purchases made by auser of the electronic marketplace system over time to generate apurchase history for the user; for at least a first product included inthe purchase history of the user, generating a link for listing thefirst product for sale; and transmitting the link to the user byelectronic mail to assist the user in re-selling a previously purchasedunit of the first product.
 14. The method as in claim 13, wherein thelink is transmitted to the user in response to another user preorderingthe first product.
 15. The method as in claim 13, wherein the link istransmitted to the user by electronic mail in response to the userperforming an online action that evidences completion of consumption ofthe first product.
 16. The method as in claim 15, wherein the onlineaction is one of the following: (a) submitting a review of the firstproduct; (b) submitting a rating of the first product; (c) purchasing asecond product that is deemed to supersede the first product.
 17. Themethod as in claim 13, wherein the link is transmitted to the user apredetermined time period after acquisition of the first product by theuser.
 18. The method as in claim 17, wherein the predetermined timeperiod is based at least in part on a characteristic of the firstproduct.
 19. The method as in claim 13, wherein the link is to a page ofthe electronic marketplace system that provides functionality forlisting the first product for sale.
 20. The method as in claim 13,wherein the link is a single action link which, when selected by theuser, causes the unit of the first product to be listed for sale withoutfurther action by the user.
 21. The method as in claim 13, wherein thelink comprises a uniform resource locator that includes an identifier ofthe first product.
 22. The method as in claim 13, wherein the purchasehistory includes at least one of the following: (a) online retailpurchases made by the first user; (b) gift purchases made by other usersfor the first user.
 23. A computer system configured to perform themethod of claim
 10. 24. A method for facilitating user creation ofonline listings for selling items to other users in a user-to-user salessystem, the method comprising: monitoring user actions performed withrespect to an electronic catalog of products to detect a user actionthat evidences ownership by a first user of a first product representedin the electronic catalog of products; and in response to detection ofthe user action, transmitting to the first user a message that providesan option to list the first product for sale, said option beingselectable by the first user to initiate creation of an electronicuser-to-user sales listing.
 25. The method of claim 24, furthercomprising, in response to selection of the option by the first user,prompting the first user to specify at least a condition of the firstproduct and a selling price.
 26. The method of claim 24, wherein theuser action is a purchase of the first product by the first user. 27.The method of claim 26, wherein the message is transmitted to the firstuser a selected time period after the purchase of the first product bythe first user.
 28. The method of claim 24, wherein the user action is apurchase of the first product by a second user as a gift for the firstuser.
 29. The method of claim 24, wherein the user action is anelectronic submission by the first user of at least one of thefollowing: (a) a review of the first product; (b) a rating of the firstproduct.
 30. The method of claim 24, wherein the user action is apurchase by the first user of a second product that supercedes the firstproduct.
 31. The method of claim 24, wherein the message is transmittedto the first user within an electronic mail communication.
 32. Themethod of claim 31, wherein the electronic mail communication includes alink to a web page that prompts the first user to enter at least a priceand condition of the first product.
 33. The method of claim 24, whereinthe message is transmitted to the first user within a personalized webpage.
 34. A computer system configured to perform the method of claim24.